I Promise To Be Careful
by Short Moose
Summary: Every time he has to go save the world, he promises her that. But sometimes he breaks it. #ShortMoose# Some people have demanded that it be more, and so it will be. I don't own the Fantastic Four
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I Do Not Own Any Fantastic Four Character. That Belongs To MARVEL.**

"Daddy!" The shout of his daughter woke him at an instant. Any sort of random outburst from anyone can mean anything from a spill of juice to some guy in a mask is trying to kill me. So, Johnny Storm ran to his daughter's room, just hoping that nothing major happened. When he opened the door, he just sadly smiled at the minor issue. "I burnt my sheets." His lovely daughter cried whilst sitting in the middle of a ring of ashes.

"Oh, sweetie," He came and picked her up with a gentleness that was only for her. "Don't worry about it. You'll get the hang of your powers. Common, how bout you sleep with me tonight?"

She nodded, a pout on her face with a few tears running down her cheeks, "Okay." She mumbled.

All he could do was hug her. "Hey, hey," He spoke so softly that it instantly soothed her. "Don't cry. It's alright. I'll take care of this tomorrow." He started rubbing her back as he walked her back to his room. When they reached his room, he laid her down, and crawled over her to lay down behind her, both of them facing the door.

A while later, when he was almost asleep, she asked, "Daddy? Where's mommy?"

For the second time that night, he was wide awake. It was seven years, and she had never asked that question before. He looked from the back of her head, to the wedding picture of him and Frankie that was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. "She's um, she's away." He just didn't have the heart to tell her that Frankie had died while giving birth to her. "And she's going to be away for awhile."

"Why haven't I ever met her?" She was asking all of the questions that he didn't want to explain to her until she was a little older, like when she was thirty, not seven.

"She works a long way from here. And she can't come here all the time." It hurt him so much to lie to her, and not tell her what had really happened. "Get some sleep, okay?" She was quiet after that. He put his arms around her, held her tight, and fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up to find that Anita was still in his arms. He loved her dearly. She was the most important thing in the entire world to him. And he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and if that meant sacrificing himself for her safety, he would do it. He just laid there, listening to her breathe. His girl; his baby; his one and only love. Out of no where, she let out a whine, and started on fire. Being the responsible parent, he quickly sucked the fire into himself, and kept her from burning her clothes completely. Johnny seriously needed to talk to Reed about getting her some fire proof clothes. Speaking of the devil, Reed burst into the room in his uniform. Johnny, again being the responsible parent, picked his head up, and brought a finger to his lips.

'We have to go,' Reed mouthed to him, a sorry look upon his face.

Johnny looked down to Anita, then back up to Reed, mouthing back, 'Give me a minute.' Reed nodded, then dashed away from the door. He sighed, and kissed her forehead, gently waking her up. "Honey, Daddy's got to work." he whispered, and she emitted a small groan.

"Do you have to go?" Anita said in her innocent voice.

"Yeah, honey." He sounded just like she did.

She rolled around to face him, "Promise to be careful?"

"I promise." He then gave her a tight hug before getting up, dressed and went out the door.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

An hour later, the Fantastic Four returned, tired, but successful. They had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing in the life-or-death category.

"Reed, I need to talk to you." Johnny said to Reed as he wrapped gauze around his right arm which had a large gash in it. "Anita has no control over her powers. She's bursting into flames at a nightmare. I need to get her clothing-" he was stopped by the door opening to show the silhouette of the little girl that all four of them knew and loved.

"Daddy, you promised!" She ran to him, crying.

"Hey, hey," He embraced her tightly with the his left arm, "I'm sorry." he then started rubbing her back soothingly.

"You promised you'd be careful!" She sobbed into his shoulder.

"I know, baby, I know. I tried to be careful, I really did. But he just got the better of me. I am so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He held her even tighter when Reed let go of his right arm.

"Don't ever do it again."

"I promise to be more careful next time," he said into her hair, and then he kissed her temple. "I love you, baby. I would never want to scare you or hurt you in any way, you know that."

"I know, Daddy, but every time you leave, I'm afraid that you're not going to come back." She cried digging herself even closer into him.

"Oh, baby." he cooed at her, rubbing her back gently. "I would never do that to you. I will always come back. I'd miss you too much, Honey." They sat there for a long time, just hugging one another.

"Why can't I turn it on and off like you?" She said about twenty minutes later.

"I don't know, baby, I just don't know." And they stayed put, him sitting on a bed in the infirmary, her in his lap, and clinging to each other. A long time later, Sue came rushing in, startling Johnny, who held a now sleeping Anita. He looked so disappointed. "Don't tell me-"

"I'm sorry, Johnny." She interrupted, and she looked like she would have rather done anything else at that point.

"Can't you do this one without me?" He sounded desperate. Very desperate to just stay there with his little girl.

"I'm so sorry, but we need you." Sue sounded even more terrible and sad than before.

"Common, Susie!" Ben was heard shouting from down the hall.

"We have to go," She then darted to Ben's voice.

He sighed. "Baby," he rocked her awake tenderheartedly. "Sweetie, Daddy's got to work."

"Do you have to go?" She whined.

"Yeah, honey." He lifted her up, and placed her down on the bed.

"Promise to be careful?" She started to tear up again.

"I promise. And don't worry, I will be back." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, a quick hug, and ran to catch up with the others.

"I love you, Daddy!" She shouted after him.

"I love you too, Anita!"

The End.


	2. Chapter 2

"You ready for school?" Johnny asked me as he drank his coffee in the kitchen where both Franklin and myself were getting ready for school. He used to go to St. Anne's, but since he's in tenth grade, he chose to go to a public high school; Townsend Harris High School. I'm only in eighth, so I still go to St. Anne's. I hate that school so much.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready."

"So, are you moving to another high school, or staying at St. Anne's? You only have-"

"Three month's left." I finished for him. He's been pressuring me into staying at St. Anne's; Uncle Reed and Aunt Sue have been trying to get me to go to a public school to expand my horizons; Franklin and Uncle Ben just want me to be happy with the choice I make. I like their pushing better than anyone else's.

Johnny smiled behind his cup. "Just wanna make sure that you remembered how much time you had left."

"How could I forget? You keep reminding me. Bye." Franklin and I started to head for the elevator.

"Bye." He saw us off.

As soon as we started to move down, Franklin started to harp me. "You haven't told him, have you?"

"Not exactly."

"Common Nito! This is an AMAZING opportunity for you. You have got to tell him. Why haven't you told him?" We exited the elevator and passed by Daniel, the concierge, like we did every morning.

"Good morning Miss Storm, Mr. Richards." Daniel greeted kindly like he did every morning.

"Morning Mr. Daniel." We both said to him as we left the Baxter building.

"Why haven't you told him?" Franklin continued.

"I've tried, but every time I do he's either going out to save the world or going on a date. Between his love life and superhero life, I can't seem to get a word in."

"Then let the school tell him! You cannot let this scholarship go to waste."

I sighed. "I know. But...it's really far away-"

"It's only across the Atlantic."

"Which is pretty far away." We got to the corner where we separate. "Look, when we get home, I'll tell him. Okay?"

Franklin nodded. "You better. See ya."

"Bye."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Someone tell me what this is an example of: Love is a river." Mr. Dully said to the class that day. He was helping us get ready for 'the test' as the teachers liked to call it. God this was so easy, so I raised my hand. "Yes, Miss Storm."

"It's a metaphor."

"Very good, Miss Storm. And since you seem to be the only one in class, can you give me an example of personification." Mr. Dully peered over his half-moon glasses at me.

I thought for a second, "Um... the clock waited with bated breath as it ticked the last minute in the four o'clock hour. For that hour, would change the lives of not only the clock, but of the world." I recited like I had more than a second to practice.

Mr. Dully smiled. "Pure poetry." Then the bell rang, telling us to go to eighth period. Ad everyone filed out, Mr. Dully caught me. "Miss Storm, can I speak with you for a minute?"

"Yes, sir." I said, finished packing my bag, and went over to him.

"So, I hear that you got a full scholarship to the Gordonstoun preparatory school in Duffus, Moray, Scotland. Is that correct?"

I nodded. "Yes sir."

"Well, you are going, aren't you?"

"I'm not sure."

"How are you not sure? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! They never come to the states to recruit unless they are requested."

"I understand that. But I just haven't talked to my dad yet. And I know he's not going to let me. I-I don't even know how they found me."

He said sheepishly, "I can answer that one. I called them. You have the best grades I have ever seen in my entire thirty years of working here. You deserve it."

I shook my head started for the door. "No I don't."

"You don't think much of yourself, do you?"

"I don't own self esteem." Then I left to go to Latin.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I slowly walked into the game room after school that day to see if dad was there. He wasn't. But Uncle Ben was. "Hey, Uncle Ben." I said, and he turned away from the TV, and smiled at me.

"Hey, sweetie, what's up?" I went over to him, and sat on the couch next to him.

"Um, can I talk to you? Privately?"

"Of course. Tell Uncle Benny all about it?"

"It's about what school I'm going to." I started. I just didn't know what to say.

"Okay," He urged me to go on.

"Well, a private school in Scotland came to my school, and was looking to recruit a couple of kids. And, they picked me, and I really really want to go, but I don't know how to tell dad." It all kind of fell out of my mouth in one long winded quick sentence.

"Well that's incredible! I don't care what Johnny says, you're going." He was smiling.

"But see, the thing is, I don't know how to tell him."

He nodded. "Oh, here's what you're gonna do: as soon as he comes home, you need to go up to him, and tell him that you know what school you're going to. He's going to be intrigued, and you're going to tell him, the school in Scotland."

"Then what?"

"Then you take it from there." Le sigh, I hate doing things by myself.

I sat in the kitchen, and was bouncing my leg in antici-(say it!)-pation. What if he says no? Oh man, he's not going to be happy. I rubbed my eyes as I heard someone walk into the kitchen. "Hey, Squirt. How was school?" Dad came up and ruffled my short hair before he went into the fridge.

"Fine. How was your day?" I said, prepping myself for the bomb.

"Fine. I met your future mother today." He came and sat down next to me with a bottle of water.

I rolled my eyes. "You always say that." He chuckled, which caused me to chuckle. After a minute of silence, I said, "So, I picked what school I want to go to."

"Really?" I nodded. "Well?"

"I'm going to Gordonstoun." I said simply, and Dad stared at me.

"G-G-Gordonstoun?" I nodded. "Where's that?"

I swallowed. "Scotland."

He had a shocked look on his face, and he said, "I-I don't quite understand. How?"

"Um, they came to my school, and were impressed at my grades, and they requested that I go to their High School. And I really want to go." I gave him puppy eyes. He can't resist the eyes.

"No." He stood up and started to leave.

I followed him. "What do you mean 'no'? This is a chance of a life time. I have to go."

He turned. "I said 'no'. End of discussion." He then left me standing the kitchen, full of disappointment. I was going. No matter what he said.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dad!" I started to follow him down the hall. "Dad, you have to let me go-"

He turned sharply and I came close to crashing into his chest. "No, I don't. I'm your father, I don't have to let you do anything." He had crossed his arms in front of his chest, and steam started to radiate off of him.

"I deserve this! I work so hard all the time-" I was practically yelling at him.

"Yes, you do! And I'm proud of that! But you are not leaving this country to go to school." Just then, Reed walked up.

"Who's leaving the country?"

"No one!" Johnny screamed at him, still raging from our fight. Reed jumped back.

"Okay, jeez." Reed tried to calm Johnny down after seeing him steaming. "Why don't you just calm down Johnny."

"No! I will not calm down!" He was starting to get hysterical.

"Johnny, what is the matter with you?" Reed asked incredulously.

"The matter is," I interjected with the hereditary anger. "I got a scholarship to go to Scotland for high school, and he won't let me go!"

Reed's eyes went wide. "Really? Scotland?"

I nodded. "Yes. Gordonstoun wants me to attend next year, and the three years to follow."

"Oh, Johnny," Reed put on slight puppy dog eyes in my defense. "You gotta let her go!"

But he stood his ground. "No, I don't."

"Dad," I let my flame simmer, no pun intended. "The Headmaster talked to me. Physically came here, and talked to me. He wants me to go. _I_ want to go. I have never asked you for anything, except to be careful. Never even thought about asking for anything."

He shook his head. "No. I'm not going to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me, dad. I'm not going to stay away forever. I would totally come back for breaks, and summers, and I just...I wanna go so bad." He started to loosen up. "Dad, they never give out full scholarships. At least not purely on academics. The Headmaster went to my lacrosse game last week, he saw me, and he loved me. Why is it that he came all the way from Scotland to check out my game, yet you can't seem to cancel a date, for the last five minutes? You know what's weird? It's seems that he cares more about my education and mental well being than you do."

That hit him way below the belt. "No one will care for you more than I do."

"Really? Because it seems like you just don't care anymore. I mean, I know I sound like a normal teenager saying that their parents don't love them, but that's what it seems like to me. I mean, you used to come to my games. All of them, no matter where we were, you were there, cheering me on. But then, I don't know why, but you just started going out more, and you showed up less and less, and then not at all. I guess, I feel neglected." Reed had slipped away a while ago, leaving Dad and I to fight out our problems. "I mean, I don't know why you thought that you needed to date more. Was to get me a new mom? I already had one with Sue. She is the greatest mother figure I ever could have asked for. I'm actually jealous of Franklin and Pixie/Riley because they're going to have her as a mother forever. I just have her temporarily. But that's enough for me." I stopped talking and he just stared.

"Anita, I-"

I put my finger up. "Not done. I wanted to say, that you've been a great dad. But I'm going, no matter what you say. I don't care if I have to run away, or get emancipated, but I'm leaving at the beginning of the summer. I just wanted your blessing."

"Why at the beginning of the summer?"

I shrugged. "I thought that if you did approve, you and I could spend the summer traveling. Spending quality time together, getting stamps in our passports."

He thought for a couple seconds and sighed. "I may not approve of you leaving, but a summer together doesn't sound bad. Actually it sounds pretty good." Again, he thought. "I'll make a deal with you, okay?" I nodded. "I'll make time for the rest of your games this year, and we'll go on the trip over the summer. And after we get home, you can make your decision, and I will be on board one hundred percent. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay." I then went up to him, stood on my tip toes, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Dad."

He hugged me back tightly. "You're welcome, sweetie."

All of a sudden, Franklin came running by, shouting, "Get away from me old man!" A man that looked like an older Reed Richards appeared suddenly in a swirling portal in front of Franklin. He screamed, and I jumped in front of him fully a flame.

"Get away from him." I threatened and Johnny stood next to Franklin, ready to jump in front of either of us.

The man stared at me with cold eyes. "This has to be done, Anita. You can't change it."

My eyes went wide. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, in my time, everyone knows who you are." He held out his hand towards Franklin. "Come, Franklin. It's time to go." Franklin violently shook his head.

"I'm not going to let you take him." I threw a ball of fire at him, and he disappeared before it hit him. "Where'd he go?" I listened carefully for and slight change in the silence. Then I heard it. It was a soft whisper that would easily be missed. I quickly turned to Franklin, and as he was looking around, the man appeared again, and grabbed him by the arms. "Franklin!" I threw more fire at him, but it was too late. He was already gone.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I had freaked out. Franklin was gone. He slipped right through my fingers. I felt empty. My best friend was gone. I sat on my bed, and stared at the wall. It was green. A dark green that matched my bed sheets. Franklin told me to pick green. It was his favorite color. What was I going to do without him? I know what Uncle Reed's going to do; he's going to do everything in his power to find a way to get him back. But I can't do that. I'm not him. I tensed up, there was the sound again. The portal appeared at the wall, and the man stepped out of it.

I didn't get mad, I was too far gone. "What do you want? Come to steal my dad?"

He shook his head. "No. I came to warn you." He waited for me to respond, but I didn't. "The reason everyone knows your name, is because you are the most feared villain of my time."

"How did I become that way?" There was no way I was going to be the bad guy. It just wasn't like me to end up like that.

"Your father's death was the thing that pushed you over. During your trip this coming summer, you two get into trouble and he saves your life, ultimately ending his. And you wanted revenge. You got it, and you never went back. You enlisted in the military, and became the next Hitler, besides the whole killing-everyone-who's-not-a-German thing. But hundreds of thousands of lives are lost in your name. It's a truly terrible world."

"I'm not going to let that happen." How could I do something like that?

"Don't go on the trip. It will end terribly for everyone." He suddenly didn't seem as cold as before, more so sad.

"Why did you take him?" I asked as he put a foot into the portal. He stopped and turned back.

"It's to help him. I'm going to control his powers. Trust me, it's for the better." Then he left.

No trip. No goodbye. I can't let him die. But I can't stay here. I'm gonna have to run away to save him.


	4. Chapter 4

Franklin still wasn't back. But the man had come back a few times. Always to me, never anyone else. And he would always reassure me that Franklin was okay, and his control is getting better. He gave me the name of a professor at Gotham University who I could stay with until I left for Scotland. I called her, and she was more than happy to give me a bed to sleep in for a while. Apparently, she was a hero in his time; I hope I don't screw that up.

"Packing already?" I jumped when I heard dad speak from the door. I turned, and nodded. "I guess I should too then. We leave early Friday morning. Heading for Washington D.C. This is going to be a great trip." He was so excited.

I just nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it's going to be good."

"I'll let you finish then." He backed out of my doorway, and closed the door behind him.

I fell onto my bed, and dry sobbed. I didn't want to leave him. But I didn't want him to die. I wasn't going to let that happen. I had a bus ticket for Gotham that left tomorrow at three A.M. Why three A.M., who knows. But it is a peculiar time for a bus to be leaving for a place instead of from it. The plaid skirt I was holding, I placed into the suitcase. Uncle Reed had made me two fireproof skirts with the school's pattern and emblem on them. He pretty much made a replica of the entire uniform, so that I could become entirely engulfed in flame, and still have a school uniform. He had made me an entire wardrobe of fireproof clothing over the years, so I was good in that department. He even made me a suit, like they have, so that when I got older, I could go out with them. That was at the bottom of the suitcase.

There was a knock on the door, and Sue opened it. "Hey kiddo, dinner in five." She almost looked worse than Reed. Staying up all night was not healthy for Pixie/Riley, especially with her being due in three months. I simply nodded, and she closed the door. I shut my suitcase, and went into the kitchen.

Ben was pulling something out of the oven, Reed and Johnny were sitting at the table, and Sue was making her way to the table. I took a deep breath and came in smiling. Just a few more hours, and I won't have to act anymore.

My alarm buzzed and I turned it off. Two thirty. A half hour left just enough time to get to the bus station. I quickly scribbled a note, and quietly crept into Johnny's room. He was sleeping peacefully. I glided across the room, and laid the note on his nightstand. I bent over him, and lightly kissed his forehead, before leaving the Baxter Building. Daniel wasn't at his post. Instead, Roberta was at the desk.

"Miss Storm, where are you going this early?" She flickered. I went over to her control panel, and typed in a five-digit code that shut her down temporarily, like for half an hour. I left and walked down the deserted sidewalk. At night, everything seems so lonely, even thought it's really not. A little while later, I got to the bus station, and had to wait in a crowd of about twenty people for the bus. I really hate large crowds of people, it makes me nervous that I'm going to explode and kill everyone. Happy thoughts, right? Finally the bus came; I gave the driver my ticket, and took a window seat in the middle. Putting my ear buds in, I started listening to _Hairspray_, and I happily zoned out from everyone.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She yawned so big, that it felt like she dislocated her jaw. Bloody six A.M in the bloody morning, she thought as she stood at the bus station in her trench coat. I should be sleeping, or at least working on today's plans. You know, for summer, it's not very warm in the morning. Oh, thank God the bus has arrived.

Ever so slowly, I stepped off the bus. An older, and slightly wider woman got off before me, and it took her a minute on the steps. Not that I was complaining, just thought you'd like to know. I searched for a sign, or something that would tip me off at the person I was looking for. I saw a bunch of people hugging and saying how they missed each other, and I tried to avoid all that by getting my suitcase from the carriage first and slipping off to the side. After a few of the families had dispersed, I saw a young woman, probably in her late twenties, in a trench coat, with her arms crossed over her chest, and a yellow Gander Mt hat on. She was looking around, trying to find someone, so I heaved my suitcase up from the ground, and made my way over to her. She looked over at me, and met me halfway.

"Anita Storm?" She asked, and I nodded. We shook hands, "Andrea Wayne."

I smirked. "I was hoping." She smiled.

"Common, best be off." She ushered me to her Jeep, and she drove us back to her...mansion?

"This will be your room." She opened the door, and let me go in on my own. The walls were a navy blue; they matched the sheets on the full bed. There was a dark stained desk and wardrobe. Definitely a fun loving room. "You can unpack your stuff, and meet me down in the living room. We're gonna go over a few ground rules before you get too comfortable." She nodded her head at me, and left me alone.

"Well, it's different from green." I sighed, and threw my suitcase on the floor. I'll unpack it as I go along. I walked out, and followed the hallway to the stairs. I didn't even go down the stairs before Andi showed up next to me. She seemed to come out of nowhere. "You're Johnny Storm's kid, right?"

I jumped. "Yeah."

"Are you all," She tried to find the right word. "flicker flicker too?"

I nodded. "Yeah." She nodded, and started down the stairs, so of course, I followed.

"Okay, rule number one: you either work or go to school. You can go to the class I teach in the summer, or you can work at the Palace Theatre as stage crew. It's much safer than the Castle Theatre, don't ever go there by the way. Personally, I would go with the class. I mean, it's very fun. A bunch of kids and I get together in my class room, and we discuss stuff. It's really a great time. And every now and then, I can get a speaker to come in, and we actually have a solid topic." She seemed so proud of her summer class.

"I don't really feel like working, so school it is."

She smiled. "That's great, because I wasn't really giving you a choice anyway." I chuckled.

"When is the class?"

"Noon."

"Fun; five and a half hours of unplanned stuff." She understood the sarcasm.

"If you want, I can make some breakfast, or you can go take a nap. I really don't care, because once I'm up, I'm up."

"A nap sounds nice. I haven't slept all night."

"Then have at it, my dear. I'll wake you up at about eleven, okay?" I nodded and started my way back up the stairs, but I turned around.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you. And for not asking for a detailed explanation as to why."

"I figure you'll tell me in time. But you should get moving. You only have five hours and twenty-eight minutes now." I smiled, and went to my new room.


	5. Chapter 5

"Good morning New York City! It's six in the morning of what looks like it's going to be a wonderful-" Johnny hit the snooze button and shut his alarm clock off. It was Friday. He couldn't wait to spend an entire summer with his girl. She was right, I have been neglecting her lately, but everything is going to change. He got up, and stretched when he saw something on his night stand. He picked up the green post it note: _I'm sorry Dad. But I can't. Trust me, I wish I could, but I can't. I promise to be careful, and I'll make contact soon. Nita._

"What do you mean you can't? Can't what?" He said out loud to no one. No, he thought the worst, and ran to my room. He threw open the door, and stared at my empty bed, and half empty closet. No. No. It can't be true. "No! No!" He cried. No, it can't be true. No, not my little girl. "Oh God no!" He yelled. This couldn't be happening. First Frankie, now her? Was there something wrong with him? Did he have a curse on him that made all of the women in his life leave him?

"Johnny? What's the matter?" Reed came rushing when he first heard Johnny yell.

"Nita's gone. She left." Johnny was crying now.

"She's gone?" Reed couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, she's run away to God knows where. Is there something wrong with me Reed? Do I just repulse people so much, that everyone leaves me?" Reed sunk down to Johnny, whom had been sitting on the floor, and put his arm around his shoulders.

"No, you don't. Nita loves you, and you know she doesn't do anything unless it benefits someone else. Maybe she thinks that running away is going to help." Reed tried to reason with him.

"Why didn't she tell me? We didn't have to go anywhere. We could have stayed right here. I mean, we could've-" The phone interrupted him. Reed jumped up and answered.

"Richards."

"Hey Reed, it's Andi."

"Andi, how have you been?" Johnny perked up a little, he always had a thing for Andi.

"Fine, and you?"

"Fine. So, what's up?"

"Did you lose something?" She said slyly.

"Why?"

"Because I found something that belongs to Johnny." She was looking into my room, checking up on me.

"You did now?"

"Yep, she's sleeping in the officially christened Blue Room right now."

"Really? Well that's interesting."

"What's interesting?" Johnny whispered to Reed, who shook his head, and continued to listen to her.

"Yeah, you know what's even more interesting? She called me two days ago, and asked if she could stay with me. How she got my number, I don't know, how she even knew who I was, I couldn't tell you. I mean, I haven't seen her since...that incident with Frankie. What is she doing here, Reed?" She's upset, Reed thought, I have a feeling my life is in danger.

"I don't know why she's there Andi."

"Well, apparently your daddy knows."

"Excuse me?" What does Dad know?

"Yeah, for the past five minutes, she's been saying, 'Nathaniel, bring him back...I don't want to leave.' Bring who back?"

Reed's eyes got wide. "Franklin."

"As in your spawn? Like uber smart kid with amazing and fantastical hair?"

"Yeah, someone took him a couple months ago."

In anger, Andi teleported outside and screamed into the phone, "AS SOON AS I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, I'M GOING TO KILL NATHANIEL."

Reed had moved the phone away from his ear, and Johnny and him listened with wide eyes as she swore to castrate Nathaniel. "Andi, Andi please calm down."

"I AM CALM!"

"A little calmer. Just breathe Andi. Just breathe." He heard her take a breath, and said calmly. "I will talk to my father, and get this straightened out, okay?"

"Fine. And I'm sending the kid back."

"Great. Then I'm sending Johnny down there."

"What?" Johnny and her said at the same time.

"Well, you know that Anita doesn't do anything unless it helps someone else, so obviously she believes that her being apart from Johnny will probably help him."

"But..."

"No buts. You send Anita back here, and Johnny will head down to Gotham to hang out for the summer. End of discussion."

"But Reed! You know all he's going to do is flirt and try to get in my pants! Half the world knows this." Andi pleaded with him.

"I said, 'End of discussion.' Just send her back as soon as you can.'

"Yes sir." Andi said, defeated.

"I'll call you later."

"Fine." She hung up and went back inside the house.

"Reed, why are you sending me away?" Johnny asked as Reed ushered him to his room.

"Did you not hear me when I was talking to Andi?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Then you know exactly why." Reed went into Johnny's closet and threw his suitcase at him. "Now start packing or you're not going with any clothes."

WTF, Reed? Johnny thought as he clutched his suitcase. "Fine." After Reed left, Johnny was terribly stunned. Why did Reed want him to leave so bad? And so, Johnny fulfilled Reed's wishes and packed two week's worth of clothes, and found Reed on the phone waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Ready Andi?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." she grumbled into the phone. She hung up, slowly picked me up (I am a terribly heavy sleeper), grabbed up my suitcase, and transported from her house to the kitchen in the Baxter Building. "Reed, take her." She handed me off to him, and put the suitcase on the floor. She looked at Johnny, and took a deep breath as she went over to him. "Any funny business, and you're going to a new galaxy. Got it?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

Before she grabbed his arm, she said, "Maybe you should say goodbye this time. It's the last time you'll see her for a while."

He thought for a second, then shook his head. "No. It'll be too hard."

"Let's go then." I put my hand on his shoulder, and took us back to the mansion.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nathaniel Richards was down in his workshop like he always is. He had been working on a time traveling device for some time now, must have been almost five years. No matter what the wife says, he can't give up, not now, not after all this time. He was revising the power source when he felt a gust of wind. In the basement?

"NATHANIEL WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?" Andi shouted at him. He jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Andi?"

"It's more like what I know." The man that took Franklin stepped out of the shadows.

Putting a hard look on her face, she said sternly, "I want to know everything, and I want to know now."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

For more info on Andi, read chapters 4 (the humungo paragraph), and chapter 11 of my story _Intelligence Doesn't Mix With Nature_. Thank you.

_ShortMoose_


	6. Chapter 6

"Nathaniel, I can't do that. I can't kill him."

"Andi, you have to."

"No, I don't. I don't have to kill anybody. I'm not going to. I'm just going to find a cave, and stay there for the rest of eternity."

"Andrea Lotus Wayne." The future Nathaniel said disappointingly.

"I hate it when people speak Greek." She mumbled at the use of her middle name.

"You know what you have to do."

I was so angry, and full of frustration, that a tear escaped without my knowing it would. "Please, don't make me kill Johnny."

"Andi, it has to be done. I'm sorry."

After a minute, she asked, "When?"

"Before the summer's out."

"What if I fall in love with him?" I'm already half-way there, she thought.

"Then hire out, it just has to be done."

She stared at him with hard and angry eyes. "I'm gonna find a loop hole. I swear to God I will."

He gave a tired smirk, "I expect you to."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Okay, if you're going to stay here, you're going to have a couple rules to follow." Andi said as Johnny and her walking down the street towards Gotham University. "When Bruce is home, you will act like a gentleman, unless he starts it, then you retaliate." He smiled a little. "We will most likely be going out to a couple formal dinners, so a tux will be worn for them. Understand?"

"Yeah, you really didn't have to explain it."

"I just wanted to be sure you grew up since the last time I saw you."

"Yeah, I have." He sounded a little depressed. "Are we ever going to talk about it?"

"No." Was her immediate answer.

"Why?"

She sighed. "Because it happened at a bad time, and I know you probably didn't mean it."

"What if I said I did mean it?" He said as they walked up the stairs of Gotham University, and she started leading him to her room.

"I don't take 'what ifs'." She opened her door, and was met by a circle of desks filled with about twelve kids. "Slave tu discipluli!"

"Et tu magister, salve." They said like drones.

"We've got a subject today! Aren't you excited!" They really weren't. "Common guys! This is Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four! How could you not be excited?"

"Johnny?" The girls perked up and looked.

"Yes, Johnny: the hot one of the group." He smiled that smile that he knew made girls go weak at the knees. So cocky was he. "Come on," She led him to the circle, and they pulled up two chairs. "Say something," She nudged him.

"Hi, I'm Johnny Storm." The girls were swooning, and Andi was rolling her eyes.

After a minute of people staring at each other, Andi asked, "Does anyone have a question for Johnny?"

"Are you married?" One of the girls across from him asked with a dreamy voice.

"Phoebe, don't even think about it." She said in a monotonous voice. Just then, a kid about the age of seven, ripped through the door, and was running throughout the room to the other door that led to the courtyard. "I'll be right back," Andi said before she sprinted after him. Which left Johnny alone awkwardly with a bunch of girls and a few selected guys. He was gonna die, wasn't he? Anyway, Andi was running through the campus, chasing this one kid. Suddenly, she picked up speed, and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Where do you think you're going, Rex?"

"Andi, please! I _gotta_ stretch out my wings!"

"Don't care! You can do it somewhere where there _aren't _people around! And where's your dad? Aren't you supposed to be with him today? It is a Friday."

"I don't like my dad! He never lets me fly!" She rolled her eyes again.

"You know, flying is not all you think it's cracked up to be. And your dad, he just wants you to grow up like a normal little boy. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. I mean, I know your dad personally; he's one of my best friends." Rex was just standing there in defeat. "Come on, let's get you back to your dad." I let his shirt go, and started to walk him back.

"Andi?"

"Yeah?"

"Pick me up?" She smirked a little.

"Sure." So, she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. She walked back into the classroom, and got stares from everyone. "Keep talking." Then, she went out the other door, and met John in the hallway. "Found something."

"Rex, what were you thinking?" John Stewart asked his son as she put him down.

"I just wanted to stretch my wings."

"You know how dangerous it is up there!"

"Hey John," She tapped him on the shoulder. "Give the kid a break, alright?"

"Stay out of this Andi."

"The moment you asked me to babysit him, I got involved." A tiny bit of anger showed in her voice. "He's a kid, they make mistakes. You just have to deal with it."

"Don't tell me how to raise my kid." Anger was starting to show in him as well.

"I'm not. It's just a suggestion. One that you should take account of." She took her eyes away from him, and went to her class. "Sorry about that." She said as she sat down.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I slowly opened my eyes to see green walls. Green walls? I shot up and saw that I was in my room. How did I get here? I threw my covers off me, and ran out to the kitchen to find Reed fixing Sue some lunch. He saw me, and said, "Glad to see you're up."

"What am I doing here?"

"You live here." Sue said with uncertainty.

"But I thought I was-"

"No." Reed interrupted me.

"But I swear I was-"

"You okay? You seemed a little out there last night at dinner."

I was so confused. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He held out a plate. "Made you a sandwich." I took it.

"Thanks."

"Welcome." He took another plate from the cupboard and two more slices of bread to make himself one.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes." Reed ended the discussion.

"I guess it was all just a dream then." I mumbled to myself. "Just like _Dallas_. But definitely cooler than."


	7. Chapter 7

Warning, there is some strong language. Just beware.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Please get away from me." A young Andi cried as she cowered in the corner of a dark room._

"_Get over here. Now." A man's voice threatened. "I said, 'Now'!" He shouted._

"_No." Her little voice came out strong._

"_Come here!" A woman grabbed her arm, and dragged her towards him. She tried her hardest to get away, but to no prevail._

"_No! Stop!" Andi was screaming._

"_Shut the fuck up, Andrea!" The man slapped her across the face, and shut her up for the time being. "This shouldn't hurt you anymore." He grabbed her arm again, and brought her close against him._

"STOP!" Andi screamed. But this wasn't just a yelling scream. This was a blood curdling scream, one's that are only heard in movies. This scream, would have chilled every bone in the entire Gettysburg Cemetery. She shot up from her bed, and was breathing heavily. Her entire body was shaking when she got up from her bed and started heading toward the bathroom connected to her room. On the way there, she hit the play button on the stereo on her dresser, and closed the door to the bathroom behind her. As _Breakdown_, written by Seether began playing, she fell to her knees, and started vomiting violently. Every fucking night, she thought as she laid her head back against the cream colored wall, body still shaking fervently.

"Andi?" Johnny knocked on the door repeatedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her voice broke as she lied. She most certainly was not fine. Never fine. Not since she was six, almost seven.

He cautiously opened the door, and stepped in. "Hey," and he made a move as to come down and pull me into a hug, but I scooted away from him.

"Please don't touch me. Just don't." Her eyes were wide and she was staring into the shower.

"Andi, what happened?" Johnny really cared about her. And he showed it.

Finally, her eyes shot to him. "Nightmare. Just a bad nightmare."

"Andi, please come here." He moved at her again, and she scooted back.

"Johnny, please don't!" He now had her cornered at the sink and the wall.

"Andi, it's okay. I'm your friend, remember? Remember that time we were watching _Happy Gilmore_, and you just couldn't stop laughing. And do you remember all those tricks that we played on Ben? And all that fun we had that month? I know you haven't forgotten." Her eyes softened, and he held out his hand. "You know I would never hurt you, never even think of it. I promise." Cautiously, her hand took his, and he helped her stand up. "Let's get you cleaned up."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Thank you, Johnny." Andi said as he finished rinsing the washcloth he used to wipe her face.

He smirked slightly. "Your very welcome." He didn't think that Andi said 'thank you' to anyone. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." Andi was sitting on her bed, and she was watching Johnny through the open door way.

"Why did you have the music on?"

"I was hoping that you wouldn't hear me vomiting." She said sheepishly. He just chuckled. After he threw the washcloth into the hamper in the bathroom, he came and sat down next to her.

"What happened? In the nightmare, I mean."

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Fine, you don't want to talk, then don't talk. But it's two thirty in the morning, and it's time to go back to sleep."

She agreed, and lay down. As did Johnny. "And where do we think we're sleeping? Remember, you make any moves, you're going to a new galaxy."

"It's just something I used to do with Nita. Every time she would have a nightmare, she would come and sleep in my bed. I bet you money that almost every loving parent on the planet did that with their kids."

"But I'm not a kid."

"No, you're thirty-six."

"And you're forty-four. Don't even try to play this game with me Johnny. You will never win."

"I promise that I will not do anything questionable tonight." He put a little emphasis on 'tonight'. But she still wasn't convinced. "It's just to make the nightmare go away for one night. That's it."

"No one can make it go away."

"I'll make you a deal, you let me sleep in your bed for one night, and if it doesn't go away, then I pomise never to think another dirty thought about you." She chuckled at him.

"But what if it does?"

"Then that's your call." Oh, my God, I love this man, she thought.

For show, she sighed. "Fine, one night." He smiled slightly, and laid down next to her. He laid his arm over her waist, and she tensed up at first, but then relaxed quickly.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Hey, Reed," I asked the next day as we were watching television. "Where's dad?"

"One of his friends is in the hospital, so he's visiting him for a while."

"Why didn't he tell me about it?" I didn't believe him. Dad just doesn't go visit friends.

"He didn't want to worry you." Then the phone rang.

"I'll get it." I got up, and picked up the phone in the kitchen. "Hello?"

"Hi, uh, can I speak to Reed Richards, please?"

"Who's calling?" I walked slowly back to the living room.

"Andi Wayne. Look, this is very important and I need to speak to him now." My eyes widened, and now I knew exactly where dad was, and that I wasn't dreaming. "Yeah. Hold on."

I handed the phone out to Reed, and he whispered, "Who is it?" I shrugged my shoulders and he took the phone. "Hello?"

"Reed, it's Andi."

"Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something extremely important."

"So shoot."

"Come to your dad's house. We all need to talk." Without another word, she hung up.

I looked at him in question, and he just said, "Um, I've got to go. I'll be back tomorrow, I guess." He was just as confused as I was. "Right. I guess I'll go tell Sue." He was kind of in a daze when he left the room. This was a very confusing couple of days, wasn't it?

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Last stop: Gotham University." The bud driver said, and I got off. No one was going to stop me from completing my mission. I was going to find Andi, and I was going to keep dad alive. Little did I know that Andi and Johnny were in Meadville, Pennsylvania with Reed and the two Nathaniel's.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"What do you mean I have to die?" Johnny was getting pretty close to hysterical.

"Don't you worry. I've got the loop hole, alright? I'm gonna fix this." Andi tried to reason with him.

"I knew you'd find one." The future Nathaniel said all pompous like, which made Andi blow up in his face.

"You need to shut the fuck up Nateykins!"

"Nateykins?" Reed, Johnny and Nathaniel squared all asked at the same time.

"It's so they know who I'm talking to."

"Got it." Reed answered for them.

"Okay look," Nateykins said to get everyone's attention. "Johnny has to die so that Anita can do what she has to."

"And what exactly is that?" Johnny's tone threatened him.

"She has to kill someone." Johnny's face fell. "And in order for her to do that, Nathaniel needs to finish his belt so that Franklin can come back and she can be jealous of him because he has two parents, and she has none."

"Hold on, I think I've got it this time." Nathaniel flipped threw some papers on his desk, and handed his notebook to Nateykins.

He gave it a quick look over, and said, "Use gold-filled wire instead of sterling silver wire. It'll work better." Nathaniel nodded and changed the type of wire in his plans.

"Franklin's coming back?" Reeds eyes brightened.

"Yes, he's coming in five days." He turned to Nathaniel. "It needs to be built by then." He nodded again. "And she has to know of his death the day before."

"Now what about this loophole?" Johnny asked her.

She took a deep breath, and said skeptically, "I am going to do my best, and try to heal you."

"You can bring people back from the dead?" Reed asked with interest. Back when I was seventeen, I had gone to Reed so that he could take a look at my blood and give me a diagnosis. During that month when I lived with them, he did several tests, practically the same ones that he did on the others. So yeah, any advancement would peek his interest.

"Well, I tried once, but it didn't really work."

"What do you mean, 'it didn't work'?" Johnny was getting hysterical again.

"Well, he was old, and I think I could if I kill him the right way-"

"Wait," Johnny cut her off. "You are going to kill me?"

"Hey, just be thankful it's me, and not some crazy vigilante."

"But what if it doesn't work? What if you can't heal me?"

She sighed. "Look, I have one for sure way that will bring you back to life, but I don't want to damn you for all time."

He squinted his eyes. "Jesus Christ Superstar."

She smiled. "I was hoping you'd get that."


	8. Chapter 8

Andi unlocked her door and threw her keys into her coat pocket. Johnny closed the door behind them, and followed her to the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat? I can make you pretty much anything." She took off her coat and put it on the back of a chair that was at the island in the kitchen.

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine." She sat down in the chair, and put her head into her hands.

"I don't want to kill you." Seeing that she was stressed, Johnny casually started to massage her shoulders.

"I know." How could he be so understanding? He should be angry.

"I swear to God, I am going to do everything it takes to bring you back."

"I know that too."

"How do you know? How are you so sure that I can do this?" To calm her down, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Because you are the strongest person I know." He whispered in her ear. "And I know that when you say you're going to do something, you will go to the ends of the earth to do it. Also, I trust you."

She scoffed. "Why?"

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and she turned her head quickly to him in surprise. He just smiled, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Then he let her go, and walked out of the kitchen. She came out of the kitchen after him, but the knocking on the door stopped her.

She opened it to find me standing on the doorstep. "Anita?"

"Hi Andi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I have to be here." Oh God, she knows, Andi thought.

"You have to go home. Now."

"I'm not leaving." I stared her hard in the face.

She took a deep breath before answering, "Your dad is here."

"I know."

"What else do you know?" Andi looked more serious than I had ever seen her.

"I know what I'm going to become."

"You can change it."

I nodded. "I know. That's what I'm trying to do."

"Then you know you can't stay here."

"Please, just for one night."

She took another deep breath, and her eyes softened. "Fine. One night." Andi let me in, and led me into the kitchen. "We're not going to tell your father that your here. Take these back stairs up to the second floor. You can stay in the room you were in last night."

"Thank you." She nodded and I went up the stairs. I quietly made my way up the stairs, flinching every time a stair creaked. When I got to the top, I shadowed myself down the hallway and into my room. It's just one night, nothing is going to happen to him. Nathaniel said this was a safe place.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Andi ambled out of the kitchen, and Johnny met her in the atrium. She looked so sad, but her eyes were focused and hard.

"What's wrong?" Johnny asked when he saw her.

She went up to him, and whispered, just in case I was listening. "It has to be tonight."

His eyes went wide. "Tonight?" She nodded. "She's here, isn't she?" She nodded again. He sighed. "Great."

"I promise, by this time tomorrow night, you'll be okay." Her head dropped.

He just pulled her into a hug. "I don't doubt that."

"Why?" She was becoming angry, and dry sobs started to erupt from her. "Why do you trust me so much? Why?"

He smirked, and just held her tighter. "Just because."

"Because why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I just do."

She chuckled a little. "You don't make any sense."

"And you think you do?" That only made her laugh harder.

She shook her head in his chest, "Why aren't you mad? You should be angry! You should be furious."

"Anger doesn't get anyone anywhere."

She looked up at him. "I would be so upset."

He just looked at her eyes and gently placed his hands on the sides of her face. "You don't have to be upset." What was undoubtedly the most romantic moment that Johnny and Andi ever had, was shot down when Andi looked away from him, and turned away.

"I'll make something for dinner, and I'll send a plate up." She started for the kitchen.

"Okay." he mumbled, and went towards the stairs. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Johnny was yelling at himself, You should have just kissed her!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Andi said to herself as she stirred the spaghetti sauce in the pot. "You should have kissed him. You _know_ you love him, there's no denying it." She left the sauce and then stirred the noodles. "Why is it that you just can't give in? Just once would be nice. Once would be fantastic!" She picked up the pot with the noodles and drained them in the sink. After grabbing two glass bowls from the cupboard she filled them both, and put sauce on it. She took two forks from a drawer and put them in the bowls. She took the staircase in the kitchen, and came up to my room.

"Come in." I said when she knocked on the door. I was sitting on the bed with the book _The Boy in the Striped Pajamas_.

"I brought you some dinner." She handed me a bowl.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. If you get thirsty, there's plenty of pop and milk and juice in the refrigerator." She sounded sad.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Liar. "Um, I'll wake you up early, and take you back myself."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Right." Awkward silence. Then, she nodded, and went out the door. A second later she came back in. "You know, that's a very sad book."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, like uber sad."

"Thanks?" She nodded again, and then left.

Down the hallway, was Johnny's room. Andi was a little nervous to go there. And it wasn't because of Johnny. She was nervous that she would actually let her guard down. When she got to his door she heard the shower running, so she was relieved at the fact that she didn't have to see him. She opened the door quietly and snuck in to put the bowl on the nightstand. When she turned around from closing the door, she saw Johnny in the middle of getting undressed and she flipped when she saw he wasn't in the shower.

"Oh, my God!" She dropped the bowl to cover her mouth in a gasp. "Oh, Beige carpet!" Quickly, she left the room and went to the hall closet. She grabbed the club soda that she kept for cleaning purposes, and ran back. "Bruce is so going to kill me!" When she got back, Johnny was cleaning up the food with a towel from the bathroom.

"See, not gonna be so bad, just a little stain that's all."

"Would you get me a washcloth please." She tried not to acknowledge his lack of a shirt by looking at the carpet. So far, it was working. He got up, and tossed her a washcloth from the bathroom.

She poured some club soda onto the carpet, and let it sit for a minute before trying to work the stain out. "Andi." he said after a few minutes of her scrubbing away. When she didn't reply, he tried again. "Andi, answer me."

"Don't you dare order me to do anything." She threatened him.

He crossed his arms over his chest and kind of cocked his head. "And why is that?" He challenged.

She wanted to tell him. So bad she did, but she just brushed the moment off. "You know what, never mind. I don't have time for this."

"Time for what?" Great, he's angry.

"I don't have time-"

"You have plenty of time! More than anyone! Ever!" He cut her off. She just stood there, stunned. "I'm sorry." He apologized a few minutes later.

"I have to get ready." She said, just leaving the stain as well as him speechless.


	9. Chapter 9

Andi was putting on her costume when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Johnny." She sighed and quickly finished putting on her hunter green body suit.

"Come in." He opened the door as she went into her closet and pulled out a pair of dark brown thigh-high boots. "What?" She began pulling the boots on.

"Wow, haven't seen that outfit in quite some time."

"Well, I haven't needed it in quite some time. Now what do you want?"

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said back there-"

"No. You did." She interrupted him. "But that's okay. We were both angry, and it's over. Done with." She finished tying off her boots, and went over to her dresser and pulled out her mask. It was a simple dark brown (that matched the boots) mask that only covered the eyes. But hey, if the press still couldn't recognize her, then she doubted a fourteen year old girl could. Although, the vine tatoos all over her body were a dead give away at who she really was. Which is why she wears long-sleeved shirts all year long. But this suit was sleeveless. "You need to go back to your room."

"Andi,"

She was still at her dresser, but when he said her name, she whipped around. "What?"

His answer, was a kiss. Johnny took the opportunity that she gave him and surprised her with a kiss. And she didn't back away like he had originally thought, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer. He in turn snaked his arms around her waist and brought her even closer. Then she worked her hands up to his hair and ran her fingers threw it. He started to kiss her deeper when she pulled away because of the lack of air.

"I was not expecting that." She chuckled to herself.

"That was the point." He smiled at her. Awkward silence part deux.

"Uh," Andi started at last. "You really need to go back to your room. I'll be there in a minute."

"So you're really going to do this?"

"I have to."

"Do not. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You're an adult."

She smirked. "Says you." He smiled back. Then her face went slack and she said in a monotonous voice, "Run out of the room and towards the atrium." When he raised an eyebrow in question, she yelled. "Now!" He bolted out of the room and ran down the hall. "GET BACK HERE, STORM!" Her angry scream echoed throughout the house.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"GET BACK HERE STORM!" I heard someone scream. I ran out of my room and towards it.

"Get away from me!" Dad?

"Dad!" I quickened my pace. No, he can't die! I've tried so hard! "DAD!" And then I found them. A woman about twenty-five, and my dad, cornered. "Dad!"

She suddenly turned to me, and threw a huge gust of wind from her hand, and shot me against the wall. "Stay out of this, child!"

"Don't you dare touch my kid!" Johnny shoved her shoulder.

"Touching me was a bad move, Storm." She did the same to him as she did me, and threw him against the wall. I watched as she made the potted fichus in the corner grow bigger so she could rip off one of the branches. Then she made that branch grow sharp and extremely pointed. How did she do that? "It's too bad, you were kinda cute." Then she shoved the branch into his chest and he cried out in pain.

"NO!" I cried. "He's said this place was safe!" Tears were streaming down my face.

"Who? Nathaniel? He's a crazy man. Doesn't know what he's talking about half the time."

"How could you? How could you kill him?" I stared at her with wide eyes.

"It was just business, kid."

"Just business? Just business?" Who would want to kill Johnny?

"Everything in my profession is just business. You learn to live with it." She had turned away from me, and started walking away.

I started becoming mad, and I engrossed myself with flame and threw fire at her. Some hit her shoulder and she turned back around. "I wasn't done talking with you!"

"Try me again when you get older."

"Why! Afraid to get burned?" I couldn't see anything but white flame.

"No. Afraid you'll do something you'll regret." She cracked her knuckles.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I had made up my mind.

"It means I don't want you doing anything you'll regret later in life. What do you think it meant?" Her smart mouth was getting on my nerves.

Without any kind of hesitation, I ran up to her, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall. "Say hello to him for me." Then, I completely engulfed her with flame. She started screaming but it soon ended. When I let her down, she was a burnt body, and yet, she was still alive.

"The first kill is always the hardest." She choked out.

"It wasn't hard at all."

"Also the most exhilarating." She was dying fast.

"It felt great." My entire soul had dissipated.

She smiled with the little skin she had. "Remember Arbora child. Because we'll meet again." And then, she breathed her last breath.

Yeah right, I thought as I walked out the door. Screw Nathaniel. I like this feeling.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Twenty minutes later, she opened her eyes. Instead of the chocolate brown that Andi's irises were originally, they were a vibrant green. Seconds later, new skin cells started to grow and covered her face before the rest of her body. When her entire head was back to normal, black hair started to grow from the top of her head, and continued as the rest of her body healed. You could literally see the burnt skin turning lighter and being recycled into band new skin. By the time she was completely healed, her hair had grown two feet and she was sweating. Healing took a lot out of her.

"I'll be right back, Johnny." She used the wall and helped herself up from the floor. There was a coat closet in the corner, and she grabbed one of Bruce's long black coats, and wrapped herself up with it. She went back, knelt over Johnny's hunched body, and started to lightly slap his face. "Common Johnny, wake up."

He groaned and opened his eyes. When he saw her he said, "Hey," She smiled down at him.

"Hey." She quickly pulled out the branch. "Now this is going to hurt a little." He nodded as she clapped her hands together and rubbed them until they burned. She gently placed her hands over the wound, took a deep breath, and tensed her muscles. As his wound became smaller, a similar one appeared on her stomach. When he was healed, she fell over, and started bleeding out.

"Common, upsy-daisy." He picked her up, and closed the jacket around her. He carried her up the stairs and laid her on her bed. "You're okay." He went into the bathroom and got a wet washcloth to clean the wound. Johnny came back and put pressure on it. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," She groaned.

"What's with the lack of clothing?" That made her laugh.

"That lovely daughter of yours decided to burn me to a crisp."

"Well that was nice of her." Oh, sarcasm. How we love thy wit.

"Oh, yeah. It felt real good." She touched his hand and he removed his hand. "See, all better." Her stomach didn't even have a scratch on it. Just a bunch of leaves.

He just noticed the change in hair. "I like the hair."

She chuckled. "It's what happens when I have to regenerate. I'll have to get it cut tomorrow."

He played with a strand. "You know, I kinda like it." She just looked at him. "Although, I like you with brown eyes more than green."

"Me too." Yet another silence between the two. "Well...Goodnight."

He stood up. "Night. And thanks." Then he left the room without another word.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She had made a decision. After he left, she got dressed in a black tank top and a pair of black pajama pants. Pulling her hair back into a pony tail, she left her room and went towards Johnny's. Silently, Andi opened his door, came in, and closed it behind her. He had turned the light off and had already crawled into his bed. She sneakily went over to the bed and slipped in. He wasn't asleep, he was wide awake and staring at her.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she interrupted him. "You made the nightmare go away." An instant later, he pulled her by the neck and brought her lips to his.


	10. Chapter 10

_Twenty-nine years later_

I walked down the hallway with a determined walk, my heels clicking against the granite floor. I was in power. The entire West Hemisphere was under my command. And I liked the feeling of power. I could do anything and no one would blink at it. I came to the main corridor of the building built in my honor, and as I walked toward my main throne, people bowed at my feet when I passed them. Everyone in the room was silent until I seated myself and looked at the man to my right to signal that I was ready for whatever.

"Bring in the captives!" The man shouted and the giant oak doors opened revealing a line of people. "Line up, and march forward. You will remain silent unless spoken to. You will remove anything that hides your true identity." They marched forward, and lined up single file across the hall about ten feet from the throne. "Remove all masks." The two guards that escorted the eight people in went down the line and removed the masks. Since the captives were in shackles, there was really nothing they could do about it.

"Don't you _dare_ touch me!" A voice rang out as one of the guards tried to remove a mask.

He slapped the woman hard across the face. "You will only speak when spoken to."

She in turn tripped the man and wrapped her chains around his neck. "I told you _not_ to touch me."

When the guards tried to pull her off of him, I said, "Let her go. She has a right to express herself." The woman looked at me with ice cold eyes, and then slowly let the man go and stood up. "Hello Arbora."

"Told you we'd meet again."

I turned from her to the others. "And who do we have here? Tony Stark? I thought you were smart enough not to get caught."

"I really didn't have a choice seeing as you have my daughter." If looks could kill, I would have been dead in a second.

"Wally West," He just looked at me with a hard face. All of these people that I know looked so much older. So much weaker. "Aren't you too quick to be imprisoned?" He just continued to look at me as I continued on.

I stopped at the next man and sighed at him. "Oh, Hannibal King. How's the vampire hunting going?"

"I'm retired." His gruff voice shot at her.

"Really? Then why are you here?" Teasing was so much fun.

"You know exactly why I'm here." I moved on.

I stopped and looked into the slightly deformed face of the next man. "Wade Wilson."

"I prefer Deadpool if you don't mind." He spat the last part at her.

I pretended to think about it for a second before replying with, "You know what, I do mind." And I moved on to the next person. I smirked. "Matthew Murdock: Blind Lawyer."

"Why can't you just leave us all alone!" Arbora shouted at me.

"Oh, does someone have a soft spot for this blind man." I went over to her.

"I swear to God that if you touch any one of these fine men, I _will_ kill you." She threatened with a harsh voice.

I gasped. "Was that a threat?" I challenged her.

"What do you fucking think? Of course it was threat."

I motioned one of the guards over to us, "Take this crew to Block D. And put the girl in 145 for three days."

"Yes Supreme." He bowed to me and Arbora scoffed.

"Supreme? What, couldn't come up with anything better?" I slapped her across the face but she didn't flinch. "Is that all you got? A little bitch slap?"

"Take them out of my sight." He immediately obeyed.

He ordered them to follow him, and then walked next to Hannibal. "Remember me King? West Virginia 2013."

"Get away from me." King snarled.

"Not likely." The man showed his fangs, and went in to bite Hannibal's neck. He tried to get away but the other guards held him in place. He was about to bite down when Arbora pushed him to the ground.

"Bitch please." Was her answer to the man's surprised face.

"How dare you touch me, you filthy human." She raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you going to do? Push me again?" He stood up and stared down at her from six feet four.

She just gently raised her hands to about shoulder length. You could feel the ground rumble and five or six tree roots shot up from the ground and through the floor. As soon as the roots surfaced, she moved her hand in a circular motion, and they encompassed the vampire and muffled his screams. Then she put her hands back down, and the roots dragged the man down into the earth, leaving a large hole in the middle of the floor. The men in the line all looked away for the moment but I just stared. If she had no problem with killing people, why should I have a concious?

"We can walk ourselves." She spat at me as she went back to the front of the line.

"Fair enough." I murmured as they started back in the general direction they were before. They went silently, and I followed them with my eyes. They had a plan and I couldn't wait to see what it was. It's been a while since I had any real fun here.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She led the line to the appropriate room and let the others go into the room before herself. When Hannibal was passing her, she touched his shoulder and he let Tony and Wally go before him. "You okay?" She asked him with much concern.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine." Liar.

"We're gonna find her King. I swear to God we will."

He scoffed. "God? Where's he now?"

"You know, I don't appreciate that comment." He smirked. She was glad she could make him smile in a time like this.

"Oh that's right, you believe."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You gotta believe in something." There was a quick moment of silent before she patted him on the back. "Make sure they're okay. And get their chains off, we're getting out as soon as I come out of that room. We're getting _everyone_ out." He nodded, and they went their separate ways. Arbora gave a quick look around before continuing forward down the hallway. When she got to room 145, she opened the door and closed it behind her calmly. "Hello Queenie."


	11. Chapter 11

"Hello Queenie."

"Hello Arbora. Long time no see."

"Yes, well I've been busy. Stopping the rainforest from extinction, killing people's fathers, you know how it is." She turned around and stared me in the eye.

"Busy, yes." So much had happened in the last three decades that I hadn't thought about my dad for at least twenty-eight years. "So, why are you here? Why is it that you've decided to grace me with your presence after all these years of me in power? We both know that that dad thing was a set up."

"You know, I gave you plenty of opportunities to turn your life around. I offered for you to live with me, and get the best counseling that money could buy."

What? She never did. "You never gave me an opportunity for anything. You just showed up and killed my father. And you told me it was just business."

She just laughed at me. "I didn't kill your father."

"You didn't?" She killed him, I saw it with my own eyes.

She shook her head. "Nope. I just stabbed him. After you left all mad, I up married him. We even had a couple kids. Isn't that great?" She was practically hysterical.

"You must be crazy-"

All of a sudden, her face grew serious, the tattooed vines on her arms peeled off, and I felt them wrap around my neck. "Look here sweet cheeks, you're going to let everyone go, and we're going to go peacefully. Then you're going to go into your room and stab yourself in the heart with the sharpest blade you can find. And the rest of the world will live happily ever after."

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that willingly?" I choked out.

"Because you're _going_ to die. Whether it's by my hand or not." She stared at me with the hardest of eyes. "You are still Johnny's daughter, which means I'm still obligated to protect you. But mark my words," She let down her vines, but they didn't go back onto her arms. "You will be dead before the day is out."

I just smirked and straightened up my clothes. "I love a challenge." I then walked out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It wasn't hard for Arbora to get the shackles off. She just transported them off and walked out the door. There were no guards either way in the hallway so she took a left down the hallway. 145 was the last room on the left, so she didn't have to back track. She opened the first door she came to find an older Wonder Woman with her hands and feet bolted to the wall.

"Sup, Diana," Arbora said casually as she went up to the woman.

"Hey Andi. How'd you get in?" Andi had started to get the straps off the wall by teleporting them off.

"I let myself get captured, along with a few friends to help get everyone out."

"Does Bruce know about this?" She asked after she was free.

"You kidding? We came up with the plan together." They left that room and went to the one across the hallway. "Hey Rex." He was in the same position as Diana was.

"Andi, you son of a bitch." He was definitely happy to see her. What Andi didn't know was that I had supercharged his straps. "Andi wait-" She had started to take them off when she was shot across the room being bashed against the wall. Head first too.

"Oh, God that's going to hurt for a minute." She stayed on the floor where she had landed and held her head for a moment. Then her arm twitched. "Oh God I hate getting electrocuted."

"I tried to tell you-"

"I know, I know, shut up. I'm thinking." Slowly and shaking, she got up and went back over to him. She took a deep breath, and shot a large gust of wind from her hands. Suddenly, Rex was out of the restraints and standing next to them.

"Oh, God my stomach." He held his stomach, and she just patted him on the back.

"First time's a bitch, isn't it?" She motioned for them to follow her, and they went to the next room. "Oh, my God Pepper." This time she ran to the woman who was crumpled against the wall, only a single chain holding her. "Pepper, Pepper common, I know you can hear me." She was drugged, there was no doubt about that. Her dilated eyes shifted from the corner of the room to her. "Look at me, look at me. Right here." She pointed to her own eyes. When Pepper's eyes found hers, she said, "Now, do you know where Ace is?" Pepper started whining, and Andi shushed her. "Okay, come on, you're going home." Rex ripped the chain off the wall, and Andi teleported her to Wayne Manor, which was the safe place where everyone that had yet to be captured was hiding. I hadn't touched Gotham, I was too good for the stupid city.

"Is she going to be okay?" Diana asked as we moved on to the next room.

"Bruce will take of her. Mr. Fox will fix something up to help her. She'll be fine."

"What about Ace?" Rex asked with a whole bunch of concern. He had a thing for Ace.

"Rex, you gotta calm down. We'll find her. I promise." He nodded, and they went to the next room. By the time they had reached Block D, they had accumulated a group of seven people. "You guys alright?" She asked Hannibal as they filed out the Block.

"Yeah, we're cool." Tony both looked and sounded depressed.

"Tony, I found Pepper."

He got a scared look on his face. "Oh, God. How was she?"

"A little worse for wear, I have to admit, but she'll be fine. I sent her home."

"And Ace?"

She shook her head. "Nothing yet. But I'll find her. She's probably with the kids. You know how they act, adults but still children."

"Yeah, children." He was dangerously distracted.

"Tony, why don't you go home and be with Pepper. You're no good here if you're distracted." Andi hated seeing him like this.

He nodded. "Okay." She nodded back at him, and sent him home the same way she did Pepper.

The kids have got to be here somewhere, she thought as they moved forward towards the end of the hallway and rooms.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I watched the entire thing from the safety of the Security office. I purposely left the doors unlocked and the hallway unguarded. They were playing right into my trap. I smiled as she sent Tony away. Poor insolent fools, I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.


	12. Chapter 12

Andi and the rest of the group had gotten to the last room, and she opened it with ease just like the others. Unlike the others however, this room was pitch black.

"Wait here." She said to Hannibal, who was pretty much her right hand guy.

He shook his head. "I'm not letting you go in alone."

"Hannibal, if what I think is in there is in there, then I'm not letting you go in that room."

He just crossed him arms. "Andi, how long have you known me?"

She sighed, "Forty-five years. Look, you either stay out here, or you're going home. It's your choice."

Damn her! He thought as she went into the room and closed the door behind her. "We hear one noise from her, and we go in, understand." Deadpool nodded, and braced himself just in case.

Andi stood in the dark room, mentally calming her claustrophobia. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened for anything. It seemed like an eternity before she heard a soft hiss on her left. Immediately, she threw a gust of wind towards the noise, and she heard a mass bash against the wall. Then a louder hiss on her right, and she attacked that one the same way as the first. It didn't take long for the first body to come at her again, and this time, she shot the vines from her left arm and they wrapped around the first body as the other arm was busy keeping the second body from attacking her. You know, some people may not think that vampires are easy to take down, but they really are. Just ask Hannibal. But these suckheads were her family.

"You kids really gotta calm down." Andi said as she finished roping the two up. She lifted her arms, and yelped in pain when she realized that she couldn't carry both of them unless the vines were unattached. It was like ripping her own skin off.

The moment she yelped, Hannibal came rushing in, bugle blaring. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just hurt." She grabbed the vines around the two, and lifted with as much strength as she could muster. "These two are going home." She said through clenched teeth. Hannibal nodded in agreement, and Andi disappeared. She reappeared in the atrium at the Manor, and was met with several stares. "Get two syringes of the cure now." She said and Reed ran to the kitchen and grabbed two vials from the refrigerator before stretching his arm back to her with the vials. Andi took them from his hand, and injected both kids. Justin and Anita had been gone for eight months. Anita was Hannibal's daughter, Justin her husband. Now, finding the place where they were wasn't what took so long to get them back, it was getting enough people together to go in after them.

As soon as the cure hit their blood, the two of them started thrashing around, screaming at the fact that most of their cells were being killed. As they were rolling around and twitching, she unwrapped her vines and passed the kids off to J'onn J'onzz, who was her left hand guy. Okay, they weren't really kids, they were actually in their forties, but they were still kids to Andi and Hannibal. "You need to go back." J'onn calmly stated to Andi. He was about fifteen-hundred-and-six years her senior. About. She simply nodded and transported back to the hallway were everyone was waiting.

"How are they?" Hannibal asked her as soon as she had come back.

"The kids are fine. Nita's done this dance before, remember? And Justin can go through anything. It's going to be okay." She had placed her hands on his shoulders, and he nodded. "We have to go. Otherwise, she's going to send someone and this whole thing will be ruined." She turned to the people that they got out of the rooms. "Diana, you need to take these people and get back to mansion. Have Gear find out where she is and then have him contact me."

"Are you guys going to be okay by yourself?"

Andi nodded. "We'll be fine. The room we found Rex in had a window, make it bigger and get out. We're in New York, so...go to the Baxter building instead, she's hasn't touched that place since she left. We're in the old Central Park, so it's only about a half mile North." Diana nodded, and led the others away. "Wally, Wade, and Matt go to the next hallway and see if there's anyone else in the building that's with us." All three of them nodded, and it was just Hannibal and her left standing in the hallway. She took a deep breath. "And now we wait."

He nodded in agreement. "And now we wait."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Where'd they go?" I said to myself as I started to panic. They were all in one screen, and then everyone disappeared. They weren't even in any other screen. How is it that they just fell off the face of the earth? It's not possible. There was a camera in every corner of every hallway.

"Ma'am, we need to get you to safer grounds. The resistance is moving in and there's too many of them to fight off." A guard told me from the doorway that led to the hallway.

"I'll be right there." I said distractedly. Arbora had just come back into a frame, and she was waving at the camera. Getting up, I shut off the cameras and I followed the guard out of the building. He took me to a helicopter, and I stepped in. I took another look at the building, and said, "Blow them up."

"Yes, Supreme." He bowed to me, shut the door and started running back towards the building.

"Take me to the Baxter Building, and step on it." The pilot nodded, started up the helicopter and took off.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Alright, let's go." Andi said to Hannibal as the red light on the camera went off. "Everyone's waiting outside." They both ran to the room that Rex was in and jumped through the hole in the wall. As for Wade, Wally and Matt, they were taking the underground route out. If anything were to happen, Wally would run them out faster than the speed of light. The two of them ran as far from the building as possible. For Andi was the greatest guesser ever. Mostly because she knows me. I hate to admit it but she does. It's like she gets inside your head and stays there until she gets the information she wants.

I sat in my old room; it hadn't changed a bit. The bed was still the same, and the walls were still dark green. What if what Arbora said was true? What if my dad was still alive, and that I killed all of those people for nothing? NO! Don't think like that, it'll just confuse you. I felt a presence in the room. "Hello Arbora."

"Hello Anita."

"You've come to kill me."

"I said I would."

"Can I ask you one final question before my life ends?"

"Sure." It took her a second to answer.

"Why did you let me do all of those bad things? Why did you let me become like this?"


	13. Chapter 13

"How _dare_ you blame me for this!" Andi scolded, making herself come into view. "I gave you every opportunity, every chance to redeem yourself, but you turned me down every time."

What? "What are you talking about? This is only the third time I've seen you." She ripped off the face mask. "Andi?"

"That's right, little girl. You know, you really should've listened to me all those years ago. Because now, I'm going to have to kill you." She looked sad, almost.

"What should it matter to you whether I live or die? You killed my father without a conscience."

She scoffed at me. "I told you, I never killed him. I just stabbed him in the shoulder, you assumed the rest." Ever so slowly, I noticed vines creeping across the floor, heading towards me.

"You know," I chuckled sadly. "You haven't aged a day since…God, since I was fourteen. You look exactly the same." I let my head drop, my eyes keeping track of the vines.

"I know. It's my curse, kind of like how yours is grudge holding: it'll be the end of you."

"Will it hurt?" I asked, looking up from the floor.

Andi's demeanor softened and she came closer. She placed her hand on the back of my head and pulled my forehead to her lips, giving it a peck. "No. I wouldn't do that to you." Andi let me go, and her vines wrapped around my neck.

"Is he happy? Being with you?" I asked, my voice mimicking what it used to be, young and innocent.

She paused for a few seconds before she said, "Yes."

I let out the breath I was holding and nodded my head. "Do it."

Andi held up her right hand and quickly closed it into a fist, tightening the vines, and bringing darkness to my eyes.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Andi ran down the stairs of the Baxter Building, making haste as she jumped three or four stairs at a time, heading for the basement. When she got to the door, she pulled out one of her pistols and shot the lock. She threw open the door and was immediately engulfed in hugs.

"Mom!" "Andi!" The kids shouted with smiles on their faces.

She had a large smile and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey guys. You've no idea how glad I am to see you." She embraced them back. "Come on," Andi let them go and led them up to the lobby of the building. "Let's go home."

The reason Hannibal and Andi are so close, is that they're family: His three grandkids married her three kids, simple as that. Her three children (Pierce, Fuller and Margaret) grabbed on to Justin and Anita's children (Sam, Maria, and Hannibal II) while Andi grabbed Ace's arm. Pierce and Fuller put their hands on Margaret's shoulder (she didn't have the power of teleportation). All together, they teleported back to Wayne Manor.

"Kids!" The bunch of people that were gathered in the atrium cheered when we all appeared. Charles Xavier, Nick Fury, basically everyone Andi had kept in contact with was there. The kids dispersed to greet everyone while Andi made her way through the crowd to her brother waiting on the stairs.

"Hello Hayes."

"Gypsy." He acknowledged. "Did you do it?"

She nodded. "Ra's would be proud."

"You know, that's not necessarily a good thing." Bruce Wayne's hand tightened on his cane.

"I know. But it had to be done."

And then he stared at her with cold, dark eyes. "You have to tell him."

"I don't want to." She pouted. Johnny and her had been divorced for five years. He wanted to follow Reed, Sue and Ben up to the moon colony, where Reed had built another laboratory for his science experiments; Andi did not.

"He needs to know."

"Why can't you tell him?"

"Me? I'm his best friend, I can't tell him anything that melancholic. The ex-wife however, can."

Andi stood there, thinking of some sort of excuse. But instead, "I'll go if you tell Diana how you really feel."

He raised an eye brow, surprised at the challenge. "Fine. I'll tell her if you talk to Johnny about your relationship."

That Brucie knew how to bargain, she thought. After a minute of pondering, "No deal."

"Oh you're going."

"Make me." Andi crossed her arms over her chest.

Bruce only smirked. Another challenge? he thought, no problem.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A few hours later, Bruce and Andi were standing on Reed's doorstep, his hand gripping her arm. He rang the doorbell, and they waited.

Ben opened the door. "Picking up or dropping off?"

"Dropping off. How are you, Ben." Bruce held out his free hand.

Ben smiled and shook it. "Just fine. And yourself?"

"Not bad." Bruce handed my arm over to Ben. "Make the two talk, would you?"

"Oh don't worry, they'll talk." The men bid each other goodbye, and Ben shut the door. "Johnny!" Ben called. "Now Andi, just be wary of a few things-"

"Yeah?" Johnny asked, coming down the stairs, looking thirty to forty years younger. "Andi?"

"Johnny? What have you done to yourself?" She spat, tearing her arm from Ben's grasp and looking at the man she once knew.

"Andi, I can explain."

"No!" She cut him off, heading for the door. "I don't want to hear it." She left the house and slammed the door behind her.

Johnny stood there, dumfounded. "Well go after her!" Ben shoved him out of the house.

"Andi wait!" Johnny shouted, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?" She turned sharply on her heels and went straight up to him. "What do you want to explain to me? How you turned back the clock? How you threw away your life?"

"How did I throw away my life, huh?" Johnny shouted back at her, his voice making some peek out the doors of their houses.

"Growing old is a privilege! One that you decided to throw away!"

"Hey, I had no choice! Reed came up with this serum, and Sue and him, and Ben and Alicia were all taking it. I was depressed, and I came up here to be with them, so I took it and this was what happened."

"You could have come home." She was hurt, and her voice showed it.

"To what?"

"To the mess that you left behind. _Your_ daughter was taking over countries one by one, _your_ daughter kidnapped our kids, _your_ daughter took over half the world. While you were up here hiding."

"You have enough power and resources to take her down, but you waited. Why?"

"Because Nathaniel told me to." Johnny looked confused. "You have no idea what I've been going through down there! I have had future versions of myself and Nathaniel coming up to me every day telling me, 'not yet, you have to wait for the perfect time'. Just guess at what I did today. I ended it: her reign, her life." Johnny was speechless. Her eyes saddened and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "And you know what? I'm tired. I'm tired of everybody counting on me, I'm tired of finishing everything. I'm done." She turned and started walking away.

"Where're you going?"

Andi turned around again and shook her head. "I don't know. And no one else will either." And she teleported away.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Still awake?" A voice asked behind her as she stood on a balcony connected to her room a year later.

"Obviously." She turned around and looked down at the man. "What are you still doing up, Charles?"

Xavier calmly folded his hands in his lap. "Worrying about one of my students."

"I'm not one of the kids, Charlie. I'm hardly a student anymore."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. What's bothering you Andrea?"

She turned back, leaning her arms on the railing of the balcony. "I'm just tired, Charles. I'm still so very tired."

"You've been through a lot, it's natural for you to be tired."

"I've never been like this before." She said, rejecting his reason. "After all this time, lying low and only using my powers for the students, I'm still tired, and I don't know why."

"Andrea, you've been here for a year, what are you hiding from?"

"No one… …everybody."

"Why?"It was just like Charles to act like a psychologist.

She shook her head. "I'm scared of what they'll say. Bruce is going to be so disappointed in me, so will J'onn, and Tony. I can't handle that." She hung her head. "And Johnny, he's going to hate me." She added in a whisper.

"If you talked to them, let them know where you are, they might shock you."

She turned back around. "What do you mean?"

"They love you, and if you're straight with them they will respect your decisions. And don't worry about Johnny," Her eyes perked up a little; she didn't know he heard her. "He loves you too. More than you can imagine."

"How do you know?" She asked him.

He only smiled. "Goodnight, Andrea."

"Goodnight, Charles."


	14. Chapter 14

Andi Hojem Series (In Order):

1. Intelligence Doesn't Mix With Nature – Static Shock

2. The First Summer – Fantastic Four

3. The Second Summer – X-Men Evolution

4. The Third Summer – Iron Man

5. College Of Nightmares – Blade

6. The Beginnings Of A Long Life – X-Men Evolution (Coming Soon)

7. I Promise To Be Careful – Fantastic Four

8. Lives Of The Children – Fantastic Four (Coming Soon)

9. Inheritances – Batman Beyond (Coming Soon)

10. Epilogue – Static Shock (Coming Soon)


End file.
